The Marvel Invasion
by Mystique6
Summary: Three friends sharing an apartment and adjusting to life after college find out superheros actually exist. As they begin exploring a world they never thought was real they begin to discover the perks...and the downfalls of being involved with heroes. The girls must learn to balance their regular lives with their super lives and deal with finding romance along the way.
1. Girl's Night

Author's Note: I really need to stop getting plot bunnies in my head. I've been watching Marvel movies to survive this semester at school and damn me, but I got an idea for a fic. These characters are mostly based off their movie counterparts but they should resemble their comic book counter parts too at times. I hope you enjoy and please leave a review.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Marvel Universe. Movie or Comic it belongs to the writers and creators of the characters whether from the movie or comic books.

* * *

Hope sighed and tossed the papers she'd been grading down on the coffee table they'd bought from a yard sale the previous week. "We need a girl's night," she stated to her two friends and roommates who were in the living room with her.

Rory looked over at her. "Why?" she asked quirking her dark eyebrows.

"Because we're totally stressed!" Hope replied brushing a strand of bronze colored hair out of her face.

"Speak for yourself," Katrina muttered from her bean bag where she was typing up a report for her grad course.

"Oh come on!" Hope whined. "You can't tell me with all that work you do for graduate school you aren't exhausted."

Katrina finally looked up at her and shrugged. "Okay, fine," she admitted. "I'm a little stressed."

"I am too," Rory added. "I know my job isn't as demanding and time consuming as Hope's or your school work, Kate, but at least you two like what you're doing."

"Oh yeah," Katrina snorted. "I love trying to balance the boat load of work I get for grad school and my shifts at planet fitness."

"Yeah, but you're working towards something you like doing," Rory argued. "I'm stuck in some publishing building that is completely unheard of all day. There are days when the only people I see are the people I work with."

"So?" Katrina questioned. "You basically get a free day. I mean, you complain because you don't have enough time to write, but you literally have all day if you have no customers."

"I would have all day if the head editor didn't breathe down my back," Rory shot back. "If I even pick up a notebook to start writing he runs over and yells at me for not being attentive to our customers. All I want to ask him is 'What customers?!'"

"Okay, so fine," Katrina replied. "Basically, our lives suck right now and only Hope has it easy."

"Oh, yeah, easy," Hope scoffed. "Try working with teenagers and then tell me they're easy to work with. At least none of you get attitude all day."

"Well, maybe if you were nicer to them," Katrina said.

"What are you talking about? I'm nice to them," Hope replied.

"You told us the other day you flipped out on your third period," Rory pointed out.

"They were being disruptive!" Hope cried in defense and then suddenly all three girls were arguing at once, their voices filling the room in an angry barrage.

"Okay! Okay! Enough!" Rory finally shouted after a few minutes. "Hope's right we need a girl's night out."

"Meet back down here in an hour," Hope said quickly, practically running from the room before anyone could protest.

An hour later, and she met Rory and Katrina in their tiny living room. They were decked out in their most sexy attire, although they varied on the sexiness scale. Hope, with her bronze hair, looked like a flame in her tight fitting red dress. Rory wore a more classic look with her dark brown hair half pulled back and wearing a fifties style blue polka dot dress. Katrina wore a black knit skirt and white tank top. She kept it as casual as possible, being the closest of the group to being a tomboy.

"We all ready?" Hope asked slipping on her leather jacket.

"Yeah, although how we're going to pay for our drinks is beyond me," Katrina replied flipping through her wallet.

"Kate, you're pretty," Hope replied. "I'm sure you'll find someone to pay for your drink."

"Or I could let you borrow twenty dollars," Rory said quickly slipping Katrina a twenty. "The last time someone bought you a drink Hope and I were stuck in our rooms the entire next morning."

"You could have just let them use your bed rather than make them do the do on the pull out couch," Hope commented.

"The only one having sex in my bed is me!" Rory snapped wincing at the idea of anyone else messing up her clean sheets.

"Contrary to appearances," Katrina muttered under her breath and she and Hope both laughed.

"Excuse me for wanting to be in a relationship with someone before I make love with them," Rory grumbled as they left the apartment for the bar down on the corner of their street.

"No one's making fun of you for wanting to be in a relationship first," Hope placated her. "But you're so picky about men it'll take you forever to find one."

"Well, when a nice guy asks me out, I'll say yes," Rory replied.

"Plenty of nice guys have asked you out," Katrina said.

"Oh really? When?" Rory asked.

"That guy last week at the baseball game," Hope suggested.

"Please! He was covered in tattoos and had huge gages," Rory scoffed.

"That doesn't mean he wasn't a nice guy," Katrina laughed holding the door open for her friends to walk into the bar.

"He probably does drugs," Rory said.

"That is such a stereotype," Hope replied. "You really need to lower your standards. You expect all guys to be like Prince Charming."

"There's nothing wrong with having high standards," Rory argued.

"No, but there is something wrong with setting your standards so high it's impossible for any guy to reach them," Katrina responded as they sat down at the bar. "Not everyone's a super hero, Rory."

"No one's a super hero," Rory replied rolling her eyes.

"Hey, don't insult Dave like that," Hope cried in mock outrage, smiling flirtatiously up at their favorite bartender.

Dave smiled brightly back at her. "Just for that, you three get your first round free," he said. "What do you ladies want?"

"I'll have a banana daiquiri," Hope ordered.

"That sounds good," Rory said. "I'll have what she's having."

"You still have to ask, Dave?" Katrina teased.

"What was I thinking?" Dave replied shaking his head. "Two banana daiquiris and a Blue Moon coming right up."

The girls were enjoying their night, laughing raucously at the horror stories they told each other about work. About two and a half hours after coming in they were pretty lit up, and also almost out of money. Hope opened her wallet to realize she had just enough for one more drink and Dave's tip.

"I don't think you should have anymore," Rory commented grabbing Hope's wrist before she could flag Dave down.

"What?" Hope asked frowning slightly. "I'm not that bad."

"You've had three drinks already," Rory told her. "And without any breaks between. I know how you are. You'll be under the table if you have another."

"I usually have four!" Hope protested.

"Yeah, but you haven't had anything to eat in a few hours and you didn't break up your order with water like you usually do," Rory said. "I can't force you to stop drinking, but I don't think it'll be a good idea."

"Let me make my own bad decisions," Hope complained and flagged Dave down for one more drink. Rory sighed but didn't comment. Of course, after finishing her last drink she was beginning to think maybe it hadn't been such a great idea after all. Her glazed eyes couldn't focus and the room seemed to be spinning. She felt herself swaying slightly on her bar stool.

"You okay, Hope?" Katrina asked.

Hope turned her head and frowned when she saw two of Kate. "I have to pee," she stated bluntly.

Katrina laughed. "Then you better get to the bathroom," she chuckled. Hope furrowed her eyebrows as she turned to look at the sign for the bathroom. They looked so far away. Still frowning, she shoved herself off the bar stool only to feel the floor tilt beneath her feet. She was steadied by a hand on her elbow.

"Let me have your purse," Rory said gently keeping her hand on her friend's elbow. "I'll pay your bill while you go to the bathroom and then we'll go. Can you get there on your own?'

"Yeah, I'm good," Hope replied her words slurring slightly. "I just got up too quickly."

"Right," Katrina snorted as she and Rory watched their friend stumble towards the bathroom. "You should have stopped her. She's such a lightweight."

Rory shrugged. "She's an adult. She can make her own decisions," she replied. "It will be her who suffers tomorrow."

"You will too," Katrina said. "You always take care of her hangovers."

"Only when they're really bad," Rory responded. "And at least she doesn't become homicidal when she's hungover."

Katrina smiled. "Oops," she replied.

"Yeah, oops," Rory grumbled as she tried to flag Dave over. Unfortunately, it was now the bars busy hour and he was too busy to notice her.

"We're going to have to go over to him. C'mon," Katrina sighed. They slipped off their barstools and began to sidle through the crowd to the other side of the bar. Unfortunately, they managed to walk into a scuffle. Rory shrieked as a man twice her size was thrown into, and she toppled to the floor, landing in a pile of broken glass. She held her hands palm up and stared at the shards of glass poking out of bleeding wounds. Beside her she heard Katrina yelling for help. Suddenly, the man that had been thrown into her was blasted across the bar. Rory looked up and her jaw dropped. Standing in front of her was Iron Man. She glanced over at Katrina, who looked like even more amazed than she was.

"Are you alright, miss?" a low, soothing voice asked her and she turned to see Captain America extending a hand down to help her up. She carefully took his hand and climbed shakily to her feet.

"How is this real?" she murmured.

"Rory, you're bleeding!" Katrina's cry caught her attention and she felt her hand being pulled over in her friend's direction. "Dave, get me some water and a clean rag."

"Will she need stitches?" Iron Man asked, the mask of his suit sliding up to reveal his face.

"No, I don't think so," Katrina replied gently pulling the glass shards out of Rory's hand. "But if you have any Neosporin or something to clean out these cuts that'd be great."

"There's a first aid kit in the car," Captain America said. "I'll go get it."

Meanwhile, Hope had finally managed to get to the bathroom and after shoving open the door she quickly shuffled over to a stall. "Gotta pee. Gotta pee," she muttered as she pushed open the stall only to freeze in shock when she saw a guy in red spandex sitting on the toilet while simultaneously polishing a katana. The man glanced up at her, and she could see his eyebrows raise behind the black patches surrounding the eyes of his mask.

"I think you're in the wrong room," he told her sounding amused rather than angry. Hope turned her head to stare back out into the bathroom and saw what she'd missed on her way in. A line of urinals on the opposite wall. She blushed bright red and turned back to face the guy.

"I'm so sorry," she blurted out. "I'm drunk and…I'll just…I'll just…Please don't stab me!" She turned and fled as fast as her unsteady feet would carry her out of the bathroom. She didn't stop to head into the bathroom next door, the women's bathroom, she just wanted out of there. She fought her way across the room to the bar ignoring the way the room was spinning faster and faster. Finally, she caught sight of her two friends and ran the last few feet over to them. "Guys, we have to get out of here!"

"Hope? What's wrong?" Rory asked concerned.

"You look totally freaked," Katrina commented. "Did someone hurt you?"

Hope shook her head. "We need to go," she insisted grabbing onto Rory's arming and pulling on it. "We have to get out of here."

"Hey! Hey! Slow down," Rory replied tugging her arm free. "Why do we have to get out of here?"

"Someone bad is here," Hope replied glancing back towards the bathrooms.

"What do you mean someone bad?" Katrina asked looking concerned.

"Miss, what happened just now? Who did you see that's bad?" a deep voice asked her. Hope turned her head and stared in shock. She was hallucinating. She had to be. There was no way Captain America was standing in front of her asking who the bad guy was. Maybe she'd hallucinated him as well.

"Miss? What was her name again?" another voice asked. Hope whipped her head to the side and saw Iron Man was there as well. Definitely hallucinating. She guessed Rory was right about the fourth drink being one too many.

"Hey guys!" a familiar voice rang from behind her. "You're never going to guess. This young girl is so drunk she went into the guy's bathroom. She thought I was gonna stab her." Hope spun around to see Deadpool walking towards them. The room began to grow blurry.

"I think someone spiked my drink," Hope whispered and then the room went black.


	2. Superheroes Are Real?

**Author's Note:** Really super short chapter. Hope you enjoy and please review.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Marvel.

* * *

Hope woke up feeling like she'd been hit by a truck…twice. Groaning she pushed herself up on her elbows, and immediately felt her stomach heave. She turned to lean over the bed and hurled into a conveniently placed bucket. Considering the putrid smell rising from it and the drips of vomit trailing down its inside walls it wasn't the first time she'd used it. Moaning as she pushed herself more slowly into and upright position, she carefully swung her feet over the bed. She stumbled to the bathroom feeling more than a little woozy.

When she finally reached the bathroom she fumbled with the handle of the shower. Keeping the water on cold, Hope crawled into the center of the shower and let the water shock her into sobriety. Feeling only marginally more human she shuffled out from under the spray, swallowed some Tylenol dry, and wrapped herself in a fuzzy blue robe. Rory and Katrina would just have to deal with the fact that she wasn't wearing clothes today.

However, neither of her friends said anything when she came down and slumped in a seat at the kitchen table. Rory simply pushed a cup of orange juice towards her while Katrina placed a piece of toast in front of her. Hope tried to wave them off, but they insisted.

"You'll feel better if you have something in your stomach," Katrina said.

"If it stays down," Hope muttered but took a nibble out of the toast anyway. The kitchen remained blessedly silent for a few minutes before Rory cleared her throat.

"So do you remember anything from last night?" her friend asked.

Hope thought over the previous night and laughed. "You're totally going to laugh, but I could have sworn I walked in on Deadpool taking a dump," she chortled. "Talk about being drunk."

"Well, that's just it actually…" Rory began but Hope waved her off.

"Next time you tell me you think I should stop, I'll listen," Hope said. "I hope I wasn't too much of a pain to drag home."

"Hardly," an amused voice rang out from behind her and Hope tensed. "You only way, like what? A hundred pounds?" Hope tensed and glanced back and forth between her two friends who were staring at her anxiously. Slowly, she turned around in her seat to see Deadpool leaning against the doorframe. She turned back around to face her friends.

"Someone want to explain?" Hope asked.

There was a moment of silence before Katrina finally replied. "It turns out superheroes are real."

Hope nodded before shaking her head. "He's not a hero," she argued jerking her thumb back to the suited man in the doorway.

"He's an anti-hero," Rory said.

"Right," Hope sighed and buried her face in her hands. "So Captain America and Iron Man too? I vaguely remember them last night being at the bar."

"They were," Katrina confirmed. "They broke up a bar fight and….Hey! Where are you going?"

"Back to my room," Hope called over her shoulder. "I'm too hungover to deal with this right now."


	3. Problems

**Author's Note:** Here's the third chapter. The girls are facing a new complication in their lives. I hope you enjoy and please leave a review.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Marvel.

* * *

When Hope wandered back out to the kitchen in their apartment she was almost surprised when she didn't see Deadpool. "Has the hallucination finally stopped then?" she said mirthlessly as she bypassed her friends for the fridge.

"Hope, you weren't hallucinating. They were really…"

"I know. I know," Hope waved Rory off. "I actually think that makes things worse."

"What?" Katrina exclaimed. "What's so bad about superheroes being real?"

Hope took a few gulps of milk straight from the carton before shrugging her shoulders and addressing her friend. "I just feel like they're just going to cause us problems."

"What kind of problems?" Rory asked.

Hope opened her mouth to respond but was distracted when she saw Natasha Romanov standing in the doorway of their kitchen. Her shoulders slumped. "Those kind of problems," she answered Rory jerking her chin towards the doorway. Katrina and Rory both turned around in their seats.

"The Black Widow? No way!" Katrina cried excited. Rory looked more nervous.

"What are you doing here?" she asked nervously.

"There's no reason to be nervous," a calming voice rang out from behind Natasha and Phil Coulson suddenly joined them in the kitchen. "We just need to discuss a few things now that you three know people like Captain America and the Black Widow are real."

"What's there to discuss?" Hope asked crossing her arms. She hoped these guys didn't expect her to be complacent. It wasn't in her nature to go along with things.

"Well, people aren't supposed to know that superheroes are real and…"

"What are you going to do? Wipe our memories? Brainwash us into forgetting what we saw last night?" Hope challenged Coulson.

"Hope, don't be ridiculous," Rory scolded. "They can't do that?" A doubtful expression filled her face and she turned back to the S.H.I.E.L.D agent. "Are you?"

"No. That is not our intent," Coulson replied reassuringly.

"Any particular reason your best assassin is here?" Hope questioned staring Natasha down.

"I'm not here to kill you, if that's what you're asking," Natasha responded evenly.

"We just want you to sign some papers that will swear you to secrecy," Coulson told them.

"Why?" Katrina asked frowning.

"Well, people aren't supposed to know that superheroes exist," Coulson answered. "Only the people they save know and they're sworn to secrecy and a cover story is created for the public. For example, the attack on New York City in 2012 wasn't really a terrorist attack. We were attacked by beings from outer space."

"Aliens," Hope deadpanned. "You've got to be kidding me. First superheroes and now aliens. My life is officially weird."

"Your life will go right back to normal once you all sign this paperwork," Coulson said placing a briefcase down on a kitchen counter.

"We're not signing any papers," Katrina declared suddenly.

"Kate!" Rory cried. "What are you saying?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Kate," Hope joined in. "It's not like we're signing our lives away."

"It's not right," Katrina argued. "I feel like it's a complete violation of my rights as an American citizen."

"Our heroes have a right to their privacy," Coulson said.

"We're not going to go around telling anyone we bumped into Captain America and Iron Man," Katrina replied flippantly. "No one would believe us anyway." Katrina turned to Hope and Rory for support. "Guys?"

Hope rolled her eyes but backed her friend up. "I'm not signing anything either. I don't care how many times you come back here, either. We'll keep saying no."

"I'm going to have to decline as well, agent," Rory supported her friends.

Coulson sighed. "I hope you realize S.H.I.E.L.D won't let up on this," he said.

"We don't expect them too," Katrina replied. "But I hope they're ready for a fight."

"Jesus, Kate, don't threaten them!" Hope cried stepping towards Phil Coulson. "Let's make a compromise both of us can live with. We don't sign any paperwork and you can send one of your people down here once a week to make sure we haven't been blabbing. They'll know, because I'm sure you'll have spies on us constantly from here on out even if we did sign your paperwork."

Coulson nodded his head. "I'll talk to my supervisor and get back to you, but I think that deal can be arranged," he told her.

"Fury won't like it," Natasha piped in suddenly.

"Dr. Fury can be made to see reason," Coulson replied before smiling at the three girls. "We'll be in touch. I hope you enjoy your evening." The girls watched Coulson and Natasha leave before they turned to each other.

"Well, that was interesting," Rory commented.

"Be prepared for that more often," Hope sighed. "We've officially gained the interest of S.H.I.E.L.D. We're totally fucked."

"We're not doing anything illegal. They can't do anything to us," Katrina said.

"They can complicate our lives," Hope declared. "They can become an inconvenience."

"Only if we let them," Katrina replied.

Hope raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you trying to say?" she asked.

"Well, these guys are going to be showing up weekly right?" Katrina questioned.

"Yeah. If Fury agrees to the deal," Rory answered.

"Well," Katrina said, "it could be fun having superheroes coming in and out of here." The three friends remained silent after that, contemplating the ways their lives were about to change.


	4. No More Tacos for Dinner

**Author's Note:** This chapter is a little longer. Hopefully you all enjoy. Please leave a review and let me know how I'm doing.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own anything from the Marvel Universe. Nothing at all.

* * *

Katrina was relieved when she saw her apartment building as she turned the corner on her street. It had been a rough day in class for her graduate course and she was looking forward to getting two hours of sleep in before scarfing down dinner and heading to her nine to three shift at Planet Fitness before repeating the whole ordeal tomorrow. If she was lucky she would have enough time before her shift to start an assignment due a week from now. As she opened the door to her building she quickly dug around in her bag for her license to show their building attendant, Hilda. She was a brute of a woman who took the security measures of the building a little too seriously. Katrina wasn't in the mood to deal with her today but as she flashed her license the woman's way she saw her frantically waving her towards the front desk.

"Some strange men dropped off mail for you girls today," Hilda stated when she reached the desk.

"Strange men?" Katrina questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Suits," Hilda replied placing an envelope down on the desk top in front of her. "Looked like the government type." Katrina picked up the envelope and saw S.H.I.E. emblem on the left hand corner of the letter. "I don't know what kind of trouble you girls have gotten into but I won't have it in my…"

"Have a good afternoon, Hilda," Katrina said cutting the tiresome woman off. Like she had any power to remove the girls from the apartment building. Katrina continued up the stairs feeling a mix of excitement and frustration. Hope wasn't going to be happy about this, whatever the envelope said. She quickly ascended the stairs to the fourth floor and opened their apartment door. She walked down the hallway into their living room and turned right to drop the envelope off on their kitchen table but froze when she saw Deadpool sitting at the table eating tacos and a murderous looking Hope glaring daggers at the mercenary.

"What's going on here?" Katrina asked.

Hope's eyes flashed over to her. "I got home twenty minutes ago to find him here making tacos with our taco kit," she explained.

"The taco kit we were supposed to use to make tacos for tomorrow?" Katrina questioned.

"The very one," Hope replied testily. "He broke into the apartment too."

"I'm sure Rory let him in," Katrina said.

Hope shook her head. "Rory isn't home," she told her. "I found a note saying she'd gone to the library to do research for a new story idea." Hope finally caught sight of the envelope. "What's that?"

Katrina handed her friend the envelope. "S.H.I.E.L.D finally got back to us," she answered. She watched as Hope ripped open the envelope and read its contents. A scowl crossed her friend's face. "What does it say?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D agents will drop by once a week to make sure we haven't told the general populace about superheroes being real," Hope said sarcastically.

"Hey, it was your suggestion," Katrina pointed out.

"I was hoping they'd just forget about us," Hope replied. "And now it looks like we have him to contend with too."

"Deadpool?" Katrina questioned. "What's wrong with him?"

"Well, one, he's a ruthless mercenary who could kill us without blinking an eye," Hope stated.

"I wouldn't kill you unless I was paid to," Deadpool cut in.

Hope gave him a look. "Gee. I feel so reassured," she mocked before turning back to Katrina. "Two, he just ate our food and we're on a strict budget. Now we're going to have to figure out how we're getting dinner for the rest of the week."

"There's only two days left," Katrina said. "We'll figure it out."

"Three," Hope said loudly, ignoring her friend's reassurances, "he's an unwanted guest."

"To you," Katrina replied. Hope groaned and stormed out of the kitchen and down the hallway that led to the bedrooms. Katrina winced when she heard a door slam.

"Well, isn't she a ray of sunshine," Deadpool commented.

"You get used to her," Katrina said.

"Get used to who? And hello…" Rory said staring confusedly at Deadpool.

"Hope," Katrina answered. "And apparently Deadpool decided to stop by for a visit."

"You can call me Wade," the mercenary stated.

"Okay," Rory replied. "Where's Hope?"

"She just stormed off to her room," Katrina replied sitting down across from Wade and helping herself to a taco.

"I guess she's not too happy he's here," Rory said.

"Nope, and the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D agreed to her deal didn't do much to calm her down," Katrina told her.

"So I guess we can expect agents to be dropping by on occasion?" Rory questioned.

"Weekly," Katrina responded. "But we'll get to meet all the superheroes and…"

"Kate," Rory interrupted her. "They aren't going to send superheroes here. They'll send agents."

"What?!" Kate cried deflating. "But that's not cool!"

Rory shrugged. "That's the way it is," she said. "Anyway, I'm going to get a start on our dinner. Chicken Alfredo sound good to you?"

"Yeah, whatever," Katrina replied unenthusiastically. "I can't believe…" She broke off when the doorbell rang.

"I bet that's S.H.I.E.L.D," Rory said.

"You can get it," Katrina said. "I don't want to deal with any agents." Rory rolled her eyes and went to get the door. She pulled it open only to reveal Captain America.

"Oh!" Rory exclaimed. "I thought they'd just send agents."

"That was their plan but I convinced them that since we're intruding in your lives you should get some perks," Captain America replied politely.

"Well, Kate will be excited," Rory commented and shook her head. "Come in." Captain America followed her into their apartment and to their kitchen.

"Did you tell them we haven't…Captain America!" Katrina squealed when she looked up and saw him.

Captain America smiled and held his hand out to shake. "Hello Katrina," he greeted her politely. "Have you had a good week?"

"The best now," Katrina stated.

Rory shook her head, an amused smile on face before she realized someone was missing. "Where's Wade?" she asked.

Katrina looked over at her. "He went out the window and down the fire escape when you went to answer the door," she replied.

"Wade who?" Captain America asked.

"Wilson," Rory replied.

"Deadpool was in your apartment?" the leader of the Avengers asked.

"He's been stopping by," Katrina told him. "Much to Hope's dismay."

"Hope? She's the one who fainted right?" Captain America asked.

"Yeah, that's her," Katrina replied cheerfully.

"Kate," Rory scolded. "She had too much to drink and was overwhelmed. She's not typically the type of person who faints like that."

"I understand," Captain America said. "I would like to speak with her actually."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Rory replied. "She's not too happy about all this."

"That's why I would like to speak with her," Captain America responded. "It's important to me that everyone is comfortable with this situation."

"She's in her room. Furthest door on the left," Katrina told him.

"Thank you," Captain America responded before heading towards the hallway that led to the apartment's two bedrooms.

Hope was about halfway through her first period's tests when she heard a knock on her door. Taking a deep breath she got up to answer it, expecting it to be Rory coming to smooth things over. Instead she was surprised to see Captain America standing outside her door.

"Wow," she said. "Wasn't expecting you."

Captain America smiled. "Neither were your friends," he replied. "You can call me Steve, by the way. I expect we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

"Right," Hope said dryly. "Because S.H.I.E.L.D feels the need to interfere with our lives."

"S.H.I.E.L.D is just trying to secure the safety of its members," Captain America…Steve told her. "I understand why you're upset and have spoken against the organizations intrusion in your lives but all I could manage with the help of Agent Coulson was to get them to agree to the deal you made."

Hope nodded her head. "Thank you for that," she replied. "But it's going to be awhile before I can accept this and be okay with it. Especially when Deadpool has decided it's okay for him to just show up whenever he wants and eat our food."

Captain America frowned. "I heard Deadpool has been here," he said slowly.

"Twice since the incident," Hope told him. "He seems to have taken an interest in us."

"Well, that's not acceptable," Steve said. "I'll talk to him. He's dangerous to have around. I think he means well but he can be unpredictable."

"No, don't bother," Hope sighed. "Rory and Kate are okay with all of this, including the merc. Besides, even if you spoke with him I doubt he'd stay away for long."

"I'll talk with him anyway," Steve announced. "Your friends may be okay with him, but you live here too. You get a say in who comes in your apartment."

Hope finally smiled. "Just for that you've earned an invite to dinner," she said. "You're lucky it's Rory's turn to cook tonight."

"I'd be honored," Captain America replied. By the time he left two hours later, Hope was feeling better about this new arrangement in her life. At least marginally better anyway.


	5. Another day in Hell

**Author's Note:** Here's another chapter up. I'm glad to introduce Peter Parker, not Spiderman, in this chapter. I hope you enjoy and please leave a review. Thanks for reading. Btw, I picture Andrew Garfield for Peter Parker. Even though I like Toby McGuire's Spiderman and Peter Parker better.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Marvel. Nothing.

* * *

Rory sat at her desk, tapping her pencil and swinging her swivel chair back and forth. Bored didn't cover how she felt at the moment. She was actually convinced she was suffering a slow death at the lack of clients the publishing company she worked for. Sighing, she gave into the urge to glance at the clock and felt the crushing weight of her bad decision. It was only ten o'clock in the morning. She still had at least an hour and a half until she could take her lunch. For not the first time this shift, let alone this week she questioned why she didn't quit. But the answer always remained the same. She needed the money to bring in her portion of the rent. Her two friends always held the rent money over her head. After they'd managed to find an apartment that was big enough, and sanitary enough, for the three of them Katrina and Hope had made it clear she couldn't just stay home and write like she'd wanted to. She couldn't even just get a part time job like she'd planned. The rent demanded her to have a full time job and although she had wanted to keep looking for a different apartment, Hope and Kate refused.

So she had started applying at publishing companies. She had even managed to build herself up to be excited about the prospect. Unfortunately, she wasn't the type of graduate publishing companies looked for. He creative writing track had been all about gaining writing skills. She didn't have the professional writing skills more common for the publishing track. Neither did she have any impressive internships. Actually, she didn't have any internship experience. So although she had managed to get an interview or two, she was never offered the job. When she was seriously considering giving up on the publishing career track and looking for any full time job she'd gotten lost on her way back to their new apartment and stumbled on this place. Little did she know it would become her personal hell.

Almost no one ever came into the building. Rory couldn't understand how her boss, Neil Fulber, kept the place going. She suspected he was some little rich brat whose parents covered his ass for every expense he couldn't make on his own. If only her own parents were able to fund the lifestyle she desired. Maybe then she wouldn't spend day in and day out losing her mind from boredom at a desk. Still, the lack of activity wasn't the worst art of her job. That honor belongs to her coworker, Opal Little. Rory knew Hope thought their building attendant was a Nazi, but she had nothing on her coworker. She was convinced the Opal was the spawn of Satan. She reported everything Rory did to their boss. From how many bathroom trips she took during the day to whether or not she slouched in her seat. The woman was determined to make her seem like a bad employee. And to bring injury to insult, she managed to get every single client that did come in, sometimes right off of her. This not only prevented Rory from gaining any experience she might use to apply at a different publishing company but it hurt her wallet. Her boss set up a standard paycheck for his two employees, but he had the policy that his editors could charge their own price for reading a client's manuscript. Rory secretly wished the woman would get hit by a truck or something equally as painful.

Sighing once again, she was just about to give in and take an early lunch when the bells tied to the door jingled, signaling someone had entered the building. Rory glanced over and blinked in surprise. This client wasn't like their usual clientele of middle age wash outs. He was her age….and he was cute. Very cute. He had brown her like hers that was long and curly at the top, but short on the sides and back. He had a handsome face and twinkly brown eyes that were staring…right at her. She flushed and stood up so quickly she sent her chair flying back into the wall.

"Oh, shoot," she exclaimed pulling it back and quickly glancing back at the client. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't expecting you."

The boy smiled. "Well, unless you're psychic how could you have?" he teased and she felt her face flush.

"Right," she replied lamely. "So you're here to try and get your work published?"

"Yeah, I have a fiction piece I've completed and…"

"Why don't you let me look at it," Opal's sickeningly sweet voice cut in. "I've been working here for almost twenty years and I have more experience than my coworker. You'd be in better hands with me." This time Rory flushed in outrage and had just opened her mouth to give Opal a piece of her mind when their client refused her offer.

"No, that's okay," he insisted. "Actually, I think it's better I work with…" He glanced over at Rory. "I'm sorry. What's your name?"

"Rory," she answered stunned. "Rory Miller."

"Nice to meet you Rory. I'm Peter Parker," he replied before turning back to Opal. "Yes, I think it would be better for me to work with Rory. I'm new at writing and don't know much about the process. I think it would be beneficial to both of us to learn together, but thank you for your offer."

Opal tsked. "I hope you're not making a mistake," she tittered.

"No, I don't think I am," Peter returned breezily before focusing his attention on Rory who was feeling a bit dazed.

Shaking herself back into action she sat back down behind her desk. "Why don't you have a seat Mr. Parker, and we can get into discussing your book," Rory offered.

"Call me Peter," her client replied sitting down across from her. "So what would you like to know?"

"Well, why don't you give me a brief run-down of the plot," Rory suggested. In truth she really wasn't sure how to go about this part of her job, but she was determined to do her best.

"Okay," Peter agreed eagerly. "My story revolves around the lives of a group of friends. All teenagers. And they all end up being involved in a lab accident. You see they sneak into the school after hours to pull a prank and…"

"Peter," Rory cut him off. "Leave the details out. I'll get to them when I read your manuscript. Just the bare plot is all I want right now."

"Right," Peter agreed bashfully. "So, um, the lab accident gives them super powers and they all have to learn how to use their new found powers and they become a superhero team. The actual story with the details sound better. I'm sure you'll find that…"

"I'm sure it will be a great read," Rory interrupted him again and he smiled at her.

"So I guess now we should talk about money?" Peter questioned, looking apprehensive. Rory glanced over his appearance. The hoodie he was wearing looked work out, the material stretched too thin in places. There were a few holes in his jeans and the color had been washed right out of them. She guessed he might be a college student still, or just graduated. She could relate. Her financial situation wasn't much better and although she would have liked to charge him the one-twenty she'd originally been planning to do, she grew a heart.

"Fifty," Rory demanded instead. "I'll read it for fifty."

"Just fifty?" Peter asked amazed.

Rory smiled. "Did you want to pay more?" she teased.

"No!" Peter exclaimed pulling his wallet out of his front jean pocket. "I just…I thought it would be more that's all."

Rory smiled and accepted the fifty and the manuscript from Peter. "I believe in fair pricing," she said taking a pen and scribbling a date down on a sticky note before handing it over to Peter. "Come back in three days. We'll discuss the state of your work then."

"Great," Peter replied happily standing up and holding out a hand for her to shake. She took it. "I'll see you Friday."

"Looking forward to it," Rory returned, and boy was she ever. She couldn't wait to get home and tell Hope and Rory about Peter. Looking up at the clock again, she decided to hold off on lunch. She had a manuscript she had to get started on.


	6. Apartment 604

**Author's Note:** I know this chapter is short. It's just a filler. I'll get back to the actual plot next chapter. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing from the Marvel Cinematic Universe

* * *

It had taken the girls forever to agree on an apartment, and the apartment they had agreed on didn't meet any of their expectations. Their struggle had definitely been a case of too high expectations and too many opinions. It had been crazy of them, three broke college graduates, to expect an apartment that had everything they desired. And on top of that, they all wanted different things. They had agreed that they wanted three bedrooms and two bathrooms. One bathroom for three people was an inconvenience after all. However, their wish lists had all varied from there.

Katrina wanted extra living space to work out since she hated the gym atmosphere. She had also wanted a lot of closets for storage. Hope and Rory agreed that they both wanted an office space. Rory's list included a lot of counter space in the kitchen since she liked to cook and bake. Hope, who had grown up in a bad neighborhood and wanted a safe place to live, refused to set foot in the Bronx. Katrina and Rory had both tried to tell her that the Bronx wasn't as rough as it had been in the past but she remained adamant.

In the end, it took three weeks into their search to realize they weren't going to get everything they wanted. They'd unchecked the two bathrooms, Kate had given up her counter space, and Hope remained adamant on staying out of the Bronx. After two months of searching they'd finally settled for their apartment in Manhattan. Apartment 604 had two bedrooms, although the second bedroom was the size of a closet, one bathroom, a small kitchen, and an even smaller living space. It cost them 4,000 a month for rent. They lived on a tight budget. Their meals were planned for the week so they could budget their grocery bills. They couldn't afford cable so they became movie buffs, bringing movies from home or buying from the five dollar bins at Walmart. Rory and Katrina shopped for clothes at the Salvation Army. Hope, the only one with a decent paying job, could still afford department stores, but had become a coupon freak. Anyway, they had all learned to take a deal where they could find one.

Likewise, they had adapted to the size of their style of living and the availability of space in their apartment. Katrina got over her aversion of going to the gym and worked out after her shift at Planet Fitness. Rory wrote propped up in her bed. Hope domineered the living room when she needed to grade papers, otherwise she, too, worked in her room. When it came to deciding on who got a bedroom they pulled straws. Hel had gotten stuck with the short straw and slept on the pull out couch they'd bought. Rory had willingly taken the closet sized bedroom because the bigger room had the window with the fire escape. She said she'd be too worried about someone breaking in. Deadpool had proven her fears correct and Hope was often startled awake in the middle of the night by the mercenary messing around with her stuff.

Deadpool wasn't their only visitor. In the weeks since the incident at the bar Steve Rogers and Tony Stark had become frequent sisters to their apartment. Rory and Katrina had quickly made friends with the two heroes. Hope was slower to warm up to them. She was polite with Steve and receptive of his attempts for conversation, but the two had trouble finding common ground. They were very different people. Tony, on the other hand, had cracked a joke that had had her in tears and after that her walls came down around him, and they became fast friends.

Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton dropped in less often, but the girls had seen them enough to consider them acquaintances. All the girls got a long with Clint just fine. Hope and Clint had even hung out outside of the apartment once or twice. However, Rory was nervous around Natasha and Natasha didn't seem to know what to make of Hope. Katrina was usually the one who interacted with the ex-assassin when she checked in on them. Other than that the only other person they saw was Agent Coulson. Needless to say, the girls were all fond of Coulson. The man seemed determined the girls lives went on as normal as possible, which gave him a gold star in Hope's book. He was the only one who could assuage Hope after an incident with Deadpool. He would sometimes leave money lying around their apartment so they had some extra dollars to get through the week. They'd begun to have him over every Friday night for dinner and Hope had begun to refer to him as Saint Coulson. Overall, the girls were happy in their new lives. Little did they know things would just get more interesting from here.


	7. You Must Have Met Someone

**Author's Note:** This is up a little later than planned. Hopefully you all like the chapter and please leave a review.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Marvel comics or the MCU.

* * *

"Alright, easy day for you guys," Hope declared after wrapping up the bell ringer. "I need you to read chapter eight and answer the questions in your textbook. If you finish early, come see me. I have a worksheet for you to work on." The class groaned collectively. "None of that. I have to get these tests graded. Besides, I promise there's a fun activity planned for tomorrow."

"Okay. If that's what you want Miss. Riley," Billy Jones said from his seat in the back.

"Get to work Billy," Hope sighed not falling for her student's attempt to get her off track. She grabbed a large pile of tests and sat back down at her desk. She was severely behind in grading. The past Wednesday when she should have been grading study guides she had spent the night trying to patch up Deadpool. He'd shown up at their apartment bleeding profusely and with one of his arms almost completely detached from his torso. She and Rory had taken care of him all night only for him to slip off in the morning without even a thank you. Hope had decided to give all her students the five bonus points she offered for those who turned in a perfect study guide instead of pushing off the test. She intended to use this weekend to catch up with the grading, but the tests had to be in the grading system today.

Luckily, with her last two classes she could let them work on their own. She didn't constantly have to manage them like her other three groups. Still, she hadn't gotten through Period one's tests when she heard a buzz of chatter in the back of the classroom. She glanced up and saw Billy talking with Jessica and Maura.

"I don't recall announcing social hour," Hope remarked.

"Don't be like that, Miss. Riley," Billy whined.

"Yeah. We were just talking about the musical we'll be doing this year," Jessica put in.

"Last time I checked this was social studies class, not drama class," Hope quipped.

"You like drama though," Maura said. "You said so our first day when you introduced yourself."

"So I did, and so I do, but it's not the topic at hand," Hope replied.

"Have you met Mr. Devin yet?" Billy asked.

Hope blinked. "Who?" she asked.

"Our drama teacher," Jessica explained. "He said he hadn't met you yet on Tuesday."

"Well, I don't have much reason to be in the Arts Wing," Hope said. "But actually, I will be meeting him today." To her surprise Jessica and Maura squealed. "What was that about?"

Billy groaned. "There's a lot of students in the drama club who think you and Mr. Devin would be cute together," he explained.

"Don't act like you aren't one of them, Billy," Maura snapped before turning doe eyes towards her. "You'd be sooo cute together!"

"You'd balance each other out because you're all serious and quiet and he's so laid back and oud," Jessica added.

"Okay, this conversation is entirely inappropriate," Hope declared. "Mr. Devin is a colleague of mine and the only relationship we have is a professional one. Now please get back to work." She shook her head and went back to grading tests.

The rest of her day passed with no incidents. By the time the end of the day rolled around and she had to go to her meeting with Mr. Devin she had gotten through periods 1 through all of the tests. She grabbed everything she needed for the weekend and headed for the Arts Wing. In this school the arts were just as important as the athletics. It had been one of the factors that had drawn her to the school. She made her way to room 102 and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" a warm voice called. Hope opened the door and walked in, ready to take control of the meeting, and then froze on the spot. It wasn't the room that floored her, although she could certainly see why it would. The walls were covered in posters of Broadway plays, and even a few obscure plays. One part of the wall was dedicated to Shakespeare. There was a wheel of fortune that had musical and play names instead of money amounts on it. She could only imagine it was used for some type of game. Stage lights were strung up around the room. It hardly looked like a classroom at all. But that isn't what threw her off.

The teacher she was meeting with was the cause for her temporary fritz. She had heard her female students, and even a few of the female staff, fawn over the drama teacher. And now she knew why. He was handsome with soft, curly brown hair. He had a strong jaw. He was smiling at her and she could see two deep dimples in both cheeks, but his most defining feature of his face were his eyes. They were a jade green, and with the light hitting them they were almost transparent. And they absolutely glowed as he smiled at her.

"Hey," he greeted her holding out his hand for her to shake. "I was wondering when I'd get to meet you. Although I wish it were under better circumstances."

"It's the schools policy that a failing student can't participate in after school activities, not mine, Mr. Brian," Hope pointed out.

"So you'll work with me to make sure Dave gets a passing grade?" Mr. Brian asked. "And it's Devin."

Hope frowned. "I will not give a student a grade they didn't earn," she stated. "I'm appalled you would even suggest that. I believe in ethics…Mr. Brian."

To her surprise he laughed. "Relax, Hope," he replied. "You've misunderstood me. I wanted to discuss how we can get his grades up in your class."

"I would advise having him hand in his work," Hope replied sardonically. "His trouble isn't a lack of brain cells. Just motivation."

He laughed again. "Boy, you are just as fascinating as the students told me," he said before growing serious. "Look, you know his home life isn't good."

Hope nodded. "I'm aware," she replied. "I'm currently working with our vice principal to have him removed from his home."

"Then you know he uses drama club as an escape from what goes on in his home life," Mr. Brian said. "I'm not asking you to go against your ethics. I just want you to help me find a way to keep him in drama club. He feels safe here. He's happy."

"Yes," Hope replied skeptically. "I am also aware that he's your star performer. You have more than one reason for wanting him to be able to participate in drama club."

"Well, a man can have more than one motivation for helping someone, can he?" Mr. Brian asked.

Hope sighed. "What would you suggest?" she questioned.

"You tutor him," Mr. Brian said.

"And when in my day am I supposed to have time for that?" Hope cried. "I'm a first year teacher. I have lessons to plan."

"Don't worry. I have a suggestion for that too," Mr. Brian told her.

"What would that be?" Hope inquired.

"You co-direct the musical with me," Mr. Brian answered.

"What?!" Hope exclaimed dumbfounded.

"Well, it's just a simple solution," Mr. Brian explained. "You can make sure he does his work when he's not needed on stage. And you'll have plenty of time to work on your lesson plans. Besides, I need the extra hand. Lori, our chorus teacher, is pregnant and will go on leave after Christmas break. She can't co-direct with me this year."

"What makes you think I'm qualified to co-direct a musical?" Hope asked.

"The students told me you were in all your school plays and that you love Broadway," Mr. Brian replied. "You like the theatre. To me, that's all the qualification you need."

"Hope shook her head. "You're insane," she declared, but smiled. "Okay. I'll do it. But for the student's academic success, not his musical talent."

"Either way it's a win for the student," Mr. Brian said. "Next week we have tryouts Wednesday-Friday. We're doing Les Miserables this year. Meet me after school on Monday. I'll give you a rundown on what needs to be done."

"Alright," Hope conceded. "Have a good weekend, Devin."

"Have a good weekend, Hope," Devin replied.

Hope felt an odd buzz flowing through her the entire way home. She was in such a good mood she even waved hello to Hilda as she signed into her building before walking up the stairs. She pushed open the door to her apartment with a smile and tossed her keys and purse down on the small table in the hallway.

"Hey guys, I have news for you," she called cheerfully as she walked two feet into the living area. She stopped in surprise when she saw the crowd filling their living space. She wasn't surprised to see Coulson. He came every Friday for dinner. This Friday it looked like he invited a few others. Tony and Steve were sitting on the couch with Kate sandwiched between them. Natasha and Barton were there too. Clint was standing over by the window while Natasha was standing in a spot where she could see all parts of the apartment. Hope had observed over the past month and a half that neither S.H.I.E.L.D agent seemed to relax. There was a new face in the group of heroes. She recognized the blonde, muscular man as Thor. Confused, she turned d to the kitchen to question Rory who was setting the table.

"They showed up right after Phil arrived," Rory told her shrugging.

"What's the news you had to tell us?" Kate asked from the couch. Hope could tell she was trying to avoid a down turn in her mood. Hope wasn't feeling unhappy about the surprise though.

"Well, the news is that I'm going to be co-directing the school's musical this year," she announced.

"Really? How did that happen?" Rory asked excitedly.

"You remember how I told you I had to meet with the drama teacher about the student of mine that's failing?" Hope inquired.

"How do you have a student failing in only one month of school?" Tony questioned.

"He doesn't do his work," Hope said dismissively.

"And not everyone's a genius like you," Kate added.

"There you go," Hope replied before continuing. "Anyway, he suggested U co-direct with him so I can make sure he's doing his work."

"So you're basically there to babysit," Kate laughed.

"Basically," Hope conceded.

"Then why are you so smiley?" Rory asked. "This sounds like a waste of your time."

"Well, Devin seems like a fun guy to be around," Hope said sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Is this the same guy you called completely unprofessional and unethical last night?" Rory laughed. "What changed your opinion?"  
"He must have been cute," Kate said.

"Oh, she blushed!" Rory cried.

"Shut up," Hope grumbled good humoredly. "What's for dinner?"

"Pasta," Rory answered. "It's cheap and easy to make. And it's easy to make more of it when you get extra company."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that," Hope replied.

"Thor came for a visit and we thought we'd introduce you all to him," Steve said.

Thor stepped forward and extended a hand for her to take. "You're Hope, right?" he asked. "The cross one?"

Hope raised an eyebrow and the others tensed, waiting for her to blow, but she just smiled. "Not cross. Just forced to put up with way too much bullshit," she replied taking his hand.

"Just as I suspected," he said. "I didn't think it possible for such a beautiful woman to be surly."

Hope's smile broadened. "He's my favorite," she declared.

"We should have brought him here sooner," Steve commented wryly.

"Should of, would of, could of," Rory remarked finishing with the table. "Dinner's ready." Hope spent the rest of the night chatting with the Avengers and company. By the time they had left at nine she had grown very fond of Thor. She had even readily accepted Tony's party invitation for the following night. She had gone to bed with a smile on her face.

Sometime during the night Hope was startled awake by a crash. She sat upright in bed and saw a dark figure standing up from where he'd landed under her window. She was about to scream when she recognized the familiar shape of katanas strapped to the man's back.

"Wade!" she cried flicking on the light so she could see.

Deadpool smiled sheepishly at her and waved. "Hey, Hope," he greeted. "Didn't mean to wake you."

Hope narrowed her eyes at him. "You're not bleeding all over the place again, are you?" she questioned.

"No. Promise!" Deadpool said. "I just needed a place to spend the night. I gave up my apartment."

Hope frowned. "Why? Are you leaving New York?" she asked.

Deadpool shook his head. "I'm a horrible neighbor. People shouldn't have to put up with me for more than a few months," he answered.

"I hope you don't really think that little of yourself," Hope replied seriously. Deadpool shrugged and she sighed. "Get in bed, Wade." She laid back down and after a few minutes she felt Wade slip in beside her.

"You must have met someone if you're in this good a mood," he commented.

"Shut up, Deadpool," she ordered.


	8. Tony's Party

**Author's Note:** I apologize for the long wait for this fic to be updated. I had a very bad case of writer's block. It's cleared up now and I am back to writing. Please enjoy the chapter and leave a review if you can. They help motivate me. Thanks for reading.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing from Marvel and the MCU.

* * *

Kate shuffled out of her bedroom and into the kitchen the next morning finding Rory was already up. Her friend was shaking a tub of bisquick and had a frying pan heating up on the stove. She smiled when she noticed her.

"Morning, Kate," Rory greeted.

"Hnngh," Kate hummed in return as she opened up the cereal cupboard. She grabbed a bowl and filled it with Lucky Charms. When she sat down at the table Rory was pouring the batter on to the pan. "I can't believe Hope accepted that invitation to Tony's party tonight."

"Well, she did. And I would appreciate it if you acted like you were enthusiastic about it," Rory replied. "Hope seems to finally be coming around to being involved with the Avengers and company."

"Only because she found herself a guy," Kate said. "I wonder when we'll get to meet him?"

"I guess that depends on whether they actually hook up," Rory replied waiting for her pancake to bubble. "They just met yesterday."

"Yeah, but she seems really into him," Kate said. "I bet they're together before Halloween."

"No. It'll be about a week after," Rory disagreed.

"How much do you want to bet?" Kate challenged.

"Uh…five dollars?" Rory laughed. "Did you forget we're broke?"

"Good point," Kate replied. "Okay, how about whoever's wrong has to take out the trash for a month."

"Deal," Rory said flipping her pancake over. "I'm glad she met someone. She's been really stressed lately. This will be good for her."

"Especially if it gets her to lighten up," Kate agreed. "I think Clint might be a tad afraid of her."

Rory laughed. "Yeah, he's experienced a bit of her temper," she said. "What did he do to piss her off? He accidently knocked over her purse, right?"

"Yeah, and everything rolled out, including her tampons," Kate chuckled. "She didn't even yell at him, but the look on her face had him running out the door."

"I bet the only other person who can manage that reaction is Natasha," Rory chuckled moving her pancake onto her plate and pouring more of the batter onto the frying pan.

"Probably," Kate replied. "How about her having Thor fooled. He thinks she's the nicest girl ever."

"She really liked him. I'm glad he came over last night," Rory commented. "I liked him too. He's a great guy."

"A great looking guy too," Kate pointed out.

"Well, obviously," Rory agreed. "Too bad he won't be at the party tonight."

"Not unless he decides to drop in with Jane, but he said the two just wanted to spend some alone time together," Kate said.

"I want to spend some alone time with him too," Rory replied flipping her pancake over.

"Who wouldn't?" Kate asked. "Anyway, you're right. The party will be fun."

"It will," Rory agreed. "And if we're lucky Hope is still on board."

"On board with what?" Hope asked trudging into the room.

"Tony's party tonight," Kate answered.

Hope groaned and took the plate of pancakes Rory had just made before sitting down across from Kate and pouring syrup over them. "I can't believe I agreed to go," she grumbled.

"Yes, some things can be hard to believe," Rory said staring at the spot on the counter where her pancakes had been before turning the stove back on and pouring the remaining pancake batter on to the still hot pan.

"Well, you agreed to go and it would be rude to back out," Kate stated.

"I don't plan on backing out but there's an obvious problem here," Hope replied.

"What's that?" Kate asked.

"What are we going to wear?" Hope responded. "He said it was a formal cocktail party. I doubt any of the dresses we own will cut it."

"We'll just have to go out and each buy a dress," Rory replied.

"And where are we getting the extra money to do that?" Hope asked.

"We'll just have to make cuts somewhere else or be smarter with the groceries," Rory said. "We'll make do. Don't worry."

"I guess we'll need to get to the mall right after breakfast then?" Kate inquired.

"We need to be back here by at least two-thirty for us all to get ready," Rory replied placing the final pancake on her plate. "So after breakfast sounds good to me." She turned to place the pan in the sink as Deadpool walked into the room.

"Oooh! Pancakes!" he cried taking the plate off the counter and taking a bite out of the pancake.

"Are you…" Rory bit off her exclamation and grabbed a bowl from the cupboard. "That's alright. I wanted cereal anyway."

"Did you just get here?" Kate asked Wade.

"No. I slept here last night?" Deadpool replied pouring syrup on his bitten pancake.

Rory frowned. "I didn't see you on the couch this morning when I came in here," she said. "Where did you sleep?"

"In Hope's bed," Deadpool answered. Kate and Rory turned to stare at Hope.

"I had a temporary bout of insanity," Hope replied dryly getting up from the table and putting her plate in the sink. "Think we can be ready to go in a half hour?"

"Sure," Kate replied. "We'll just shower when we get back."

"Where are we going?" Deadpool asked excitedly.

"We're going shopping for dresses for Tony's party tonight," Hope answered. "And by 'we're' I mean me, Kate, and Rory."

"But I need something to wear too!" Wade pouted.

"Wade, you weren't invited," Hope sighed.

"Tony probably just forgot to give me my invitation," Wade replied.

"I doubt it," Hope muttered. "I'm going to get dressed. Meet back in the living room in half an hour."

They returned to the apartment at two in the afternoon and all three slumped dejected on the account. "That was horrible," Kate groaned.

"None of us found a dress," Rory sighed.

"I'm traumatized," Hope stated.

Kate snorted. "Why? You're the only one who could afford a dress. I don't know why you came home without one," she said.

"I can't afford a decent dress," Hope replied. "Nothing for a cocktail party anyway. The only dresses I could afford were ones I would wear to work. And if I'm going to be resorted to wearing business attire why buy something new when I have two dresses I can choose from here. Maybe if I put my hair up fancily and wear jewelry it will look okay."

"At least you have that option," Rory said. "Kate and I are going to end up going in sun dresses. Why did you agree to go to this party?"

"I wasn't thinking about the clothes problem at the time," Hope grumbled.

"Well, you'll just have to tell Tony that Kate and I weren't able to go," Rory replied.

"I am not going to this party alone," Hope exclaimed. "Look, Tony knows we're broke. He won't care if you're wearing a sundress."

"If he didn't care then he wouldn't have said to wear formal attire," Kate pointed out.

"Well, he'll have to get over it because…." Hope was cut off as someone knocked on the door. "Who could that be?"

"One way to find out," Kate said standing up and walking to the door. When she opened it a line of men came in carrying large boxes wrapped in fancy paper and bows.

"What is this?" Rory asked getting up.

An older man stepped forward. "They are gifts from Mr. Stark for tonight's party," he replied.

"Gifts. We can't…"

"He insists you accept them," the man insisted,

"Well, thank you," Hope said fiddling with her purse trying to find money to use for a tip.

"No need for that Miss. Mr. Stark has taken care of it. Now, I bid you good day," the man said and just as suddenly as they all arrived they left.

"What the hell?" Kate exclaimed.

"What could possibly be inside these boxes?" Rory asked.

Hope leaned over to one of the boxes and pulled off a note. "I hope you won't be offended but I figured money would be a problem for you. Please forgive my forwardness and accept these gifts for tonight's party. They will be yours to keep. Can't wait to see you all in them," Hope read off the note.

"He bought us dresses," Rory realized. "That was very generous of him."

"I'm not sure how I feel about this," Kate said unsure. "I feel a little humiliated."

"That wasn't his intent," Hope told her. "He just didn't want us to worry about spending money. I say we accept them."

"Just this once," Rory agreed looking at another tag on one of the boxes. "This one's mine."

"Let's get ready for the party then," Hope said. "Am I driving or are we taking a taxi?"

"We can afford a taxi if we all chip in," Kate replied. "Let's try to be ready by five."

Kate was back in the living room slipping on the black heels Tony had given her when Rory walked into the room. "You look nice," she commented. Rory was also wearing a black dress, though hers had some red on the left shoulder. The dress itself was a tad vintage looking and looked like it was inspired by the 40s. The way Rory had styled her hair played up that theme.

"Thank you," Rory replied. "So do you. I like the cut outs in your dress."

"Glad someone does," Kate responded looked down at the large cutout right above her breasts.

"You don't like the dress?" Rory asked.

"I don't hate it," Kate replied. "I like that it's black and the length of it. And the smaller cut outs by the shoulders don't bother me, but I don't really like putting my boobs on display."

"It's not the bad. That's pretty modest for some of today's dresses," Rory said. "It could be worse."

"No kidding," Hope agreed stepping into the room. Both Kate and Rory's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets when they saw what their friend was wearing. Hope was wearing a grey dress with a sharp v-neckline and the dress itself was only long enough to cover her behind and lady bits. The beading on the dress was playing a part in covering that too along with her nipples as parts of the dress were sheer.

"Tony must have made a mistake," Kate said. "I think he accidently gave you Pepper's lingerie."

"Hilarious," Hope replied dryly.

"You're not really going to wear that, are you?" Rory asked as Hope slid on very precarious looking high heels.

"Of course I am!" Hope said getting up from the couch. "I actually like the dress."

"I'm still not sure we can call it a dress," Kate said.

"Call it whatever you like, I'm still wearing it," Hope replied. "Now let's get going. The taxi should be here any moment."

"The taxi should be here any moment," a scratchy voice mocked from behind them. The girls sighed.

"Wade, we've been through this," Rory sighed. "You can't come to the party with us and it's not fair to make us feel bad that we're leaving you here alone."

"I don't feel bad," Hope stated.

"Not helping," Rory said glaring at her before turning back to Wade. "Look, we probably won't stay long and you're welcome to stay here and watch T.V."

"Just don't eat all the food in the kitchen this time," Kate cut in.

"Yes. We can't afford to go on another grocery trip until we get paid on Friday," Rory agreed.

"Fine," Wade grumbled plopping down on the couch. "I'll just sit here all alone."

"We don't have time for this," Hope said. "Our taxi is going to be here. Let's go. Goodnight, Wade." The two followed her out of the apartment. Their taxi was waiting for them downstairs and within half an hour they were at Stark Towers. They were greeted at the door by the older gentlemen who had delivered their dresses earlier that day.

"Ladies, you all look stunning," he said.

"Thank you," Rory replied. "And thank you again for delivering them to us."

"That was just my job, Miss. Miller," the man replied. "And to continue doing my job I am to inform you to take the elevator that's down the hall up to the tenth floor."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised he has his own elevator," Hope sighed. "Thanks for the directions." The three followed his instructions and when the door to the elevator opened on the tenth floor they saw they were the last to arrive.

"Ah, there they are," Tony said walking over to them. "Well, you all look stunning. Do I not have good taste?"

"We love the dresses. Thank you, Tony," Rory said. "And please let us know what we owe you."

"No. I won't hear of it," Tony replied. "They're a gift. You can pay me back by enjoying yourselves."

"Are these the girls you've been…." a woman with red hair walked over to them but stopped speaking when she saw Hope. "Tony, you said you were getting them dresses, not lingerie."

"I told you," Kate said to Hope.

Hope gave Kate a look before smiling at the red head. "I actually like the dress," she told the woman. "It's versatile since I can wear it out and I can wear it for those 'special occasions.' My name is Hope by the way. What's yours?"

"I'm Pepper," the woman replied.

"So you're Tony's girlfriend," Hope said. "You know I've been dying to meet you."

"You have?" Pepper asked surprised. "Tony, said you weren't that sociable."

"Well that's true, but I've been dying to know how a woman who's clearly as mature and successful as you manages to keep her sanity and interest in such a man-child," Hope said smiling so they could all tell she was just teasing. "I was hoping you could advise me of the best ways to manage him."

Pepper's smile broadened as she took advantage of the opportunity. "I'd be happy to share some pointers," she replied. "Come, follow me." The two walked off arm in arm.

Tony looked after them with a slight panic in his eyes. He smiled politely at the two remaining girls before making his excuses. "I have to get involved with that conversation before it gets out of hand," he said. "Please. Mingle and enjoy yourselves, ladies."

"I'm going straight to his bar," Kate stated. "Are you coming?"

"No. I'm going to talk to Steve," Rory replied.

"Alright, well I need a drink," Kate said and hurried off to Tony's famously well stocked bar. Natasha and Clint were already there.

"Didn't peg you as someone who needed a drink to loosen up," Clint commented as she sat down on a bar stool next to him.

"Yeah, we thought it would be Hope who'd come over to join us," Natasha added.

"I can go get her if you'd prefer her company," Kate replied. They both laughed.

"We didn't mean to offend you," Natasha said.

"Yeah, we were just trying to determine where you three fit in the group," Clint explained.

"Where we fit?" Kate questioned. "What do you mean?"

"The Avengers is one team but there's groups within the team who hang out with each other more than the others," Natasha replied. "We had thought for sure Hope would join ours."

"Turns out she's more social than she let on," Clint said.

"Hope's a tough nut to crack, but once she warms up to you she can be a chatter box," Kate told them. "She likes the two of you though. She says you're her favorites."

"Aww, how sweet," Natasha replied.

"So, if you thought Hope was going to join your group where did you place me and Rory?" Kate asked.

"Rory fell into the expected group," Clint said. "She was definitely going to fit in with Cap."

"You're a little harder to place because you mesh with all groups," Natasha told her.

"And what exactly did you base this off?" Kate inquired.

"Personality," they both answered.

"See, Hope is blunt and antisocial so she fits in well with us," Clint told her.

"And Rory is kind and compassionate. A perfect match up with Steve's gang," Natasha explained.

"We thought we had this bagged except for you, but it looks like we were wrong," Clint said.

"Well, of course you were," a deep voice said and they turned to see Vision joining them. "It's exceptionally hard to predict human behavior even when you've known a person for a long time, let alone a few weeks. People rarely exhibit the type of behavior you expect from them."

"Kate, this is Vision. Also, known as the know-it-all," Clint introduced the pair.

"I don't think it's fair to be referred to as a know-it-all when I was designed to…well, know-it-all," Vision replied.

"If you know it all do you feel like taking my test for me next Wednesday?" Kate asked only half teasing. "I don't know how they expect me to be ready with all the other projects they've thrown at me."

"You're the grad student then," Vision stated. "Your problem lies in time management. If you'd like I could help you create a schedule that will…" He was interrupted by a loud clink on the bar table top.

"Vision, I'm going to give you three seconds to drop the studying talk and have a drink like a normal person," Natasha said.

"I am hardly a normal person," Vision replied shoving the drink away from himself. Kate picked it up and downed the whiskey.

"We should work on that," she said.

Rory walked over to Steve towards the back of the room. When he saw her he approached her to shake her hand. "Glad you made it," he told her. "You look beautiful may I add."

"You may. Tony did a great job picking out our dresses," she said and then shot a quick glance at Hope. "Well, at least he did with mine and Kate's. Honestly, I think he was trying to get a rise out of Hope and it back fired."

"That dress is awfully revealing," Steve commented and Rory thought he might be blushing a little.

"When did you arrive?" she asked to change the topic.

"Not long before you did," Steve replied. "Sam and I came in together."

"Sam's a friend of yours, right?" she asked.

"That's right you haven't met yet," he said. "Here, come on over. You can meet Wanda too." He led her over to wear two others stood. One was a tall, handsome black man. The other was a girl who was about her age, maybe a little younger. "Hey, guys, this is Rory. She's one of the girls we've gotten involved with."

"Hey Rory, I'm Sam," the black man said smiling widely and shaking her hand.

"Hey Sam," Rory replied. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he agreed.

Wanda waved at her, clearly more reserved. "I'm Wanda," she told Rory.

"Glad to meet you," Rory said taking the other girl's lead and sending a small wave back.

"So, Rory, what is it you do for a living?" Sam asked.

"Well, right now I work for some mostly unknown publisher, but I hope to be write my own books someday," Rory replied.

"So, you're a writer," Sam said. "That's cool. Do you have a novel started?"

"I have some ideas but with all that's been going on I haven't had time to do any research for them," Rory answered. "Most of my writing recently has been fanfiction. Hope writes too."

"Really?" Steve exclaimed and she nodded. "I never would have thought that."

"Yeah. Hope's really creative in that way," Rory said. "You won't think it's so surprising once you get to know her better."

"Hope," Sam said slowly. "Is she the sexy blonde one?"

"I dare you to say that to her face," Steve said.

"So, she can rip me a new one?" Sam replied. "I don't think so. But damn does that girl have some legs."

"That's accurate but I think she's more of a redhead than a blonde," Wanda cut in eying Hope up from where she stood across the room.

"Strawberry blonde?" Steve suggested.

"Too dark a shade," Sam and Wanda replied together.

"Copper," Rory stated. "She typically calls is a copper blonde color."

"Fascinating," Sam said before the group went back to talking about their jobs and interests.

By the time the girls were leaving the party they felt like they belonged with this group of people. Everyone had learned to think differently about Hope, and Hope herself had warmed up to everyone enough to let a few guards down.

"You're definitely coming to my Halloween party, right?" Tony asked as he escorted them to their cab.

"I'm definitely coming," Hope said.

"We are too," Kate agreed.

"But we'll by our own costumes," Rory stated. "There's enough time between now and Halloween for us to save up. Besides, I usually create my own costumes anyway."

"Well, I'll be looking forward to seeing yours the most," Tony said as he held the cab door open for the girls to slide into the backseat. "You girls have a good night."

"Night, Tony," they all said and he closed to door.

"That was fun," Kate said.

"Yeah, I'm glad we went," Rory agreed. "You seemed to have fun, Hope."

"I did," Hope replied. "I'm wondering something though."

"What is it?" Kate asked.

"Would either of you mind if we made a pit stop?" Hope asked.

When the girls finally arrived back at their apartment they found Deadpool still sulking on their couch. "How was your party?" he asked moodily.

"It was fun," Rory replied.

"I bet it was," Deadpool grumbled.

"You didn't really sit moping here the whole night, did you?" Kate asked.

"Why do you care?" Deadpool asked.

"Personally, I don't but we brought you something," Hope replied.

"What is it? An extra party favor?" Deadpool mocked.

"No," Hope said and then held out a greasy brown paper bag from behind her back. "Chimichangas."

"Chimichangas!" Deadpool cried his whole demeanor changing as he jumped up off the couch and happily snatched the bag off Hope. "You guys are the best!"

"We know," Hope replied smugly.

Deadpool tore open the bag and pulled out the wrapped Mexican food. "How did you guys know Chimichangas were my favorite."

"You've only mentioned it once or twice," Rory said.

"Or a bajillion times," Hope added watching the mercenary take a huge bite out of a Chimichanga. After a moment, he looked back up at the girls.

"Aren't you three having one?" he asked.

"I could eat," Hope replied and the Rory and Kate agreed. The four sat silently eating for a while. Deadpool was the one that broke it.

"Hey, Hope, did I ever tell you you've got nice legs?"


	9. Why Does Everything Happen to Rory?

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry for the long period of time without an update. I have been very bad about updating my fics this year. I will try and fix that for next year. It will be my New Year's revolution. (I can't believe we're approaching that time of the year already). Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

 **Warning:** The is blood and gore in this chapter and a description of violence. It's nothing too horrendous but if you don't like that stuff, you might want to skip that part of the chapter. It's towards the end. I've put *** before it begins.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Marvel. No characters. No plots. All rights belong to Stan Lee and the creators of the MCU.

* * *

Rory was seated at a table at Enrico's Taco Hub waiting for Peter to arrive. She fidgeted around in her seat and kept tucking and untucking a strand of hair from behind her ear. She glanced over at the door to the restaurant for the hundredth time and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass. She had spent more time on her appearance that morning than usual, something Hope and Kate had been quick to notice. Both had wished her luck on her date today when she left the apartment, even though she had told them repeatedly that she was just meeting a client to discuss his manuscript.

However, after her examination of her reflection she could understand why someone might think she was on a date. Her makeup was a little too heavy for work and somehow her hair, which she'd put in a French braid, looked flirtatious. Rory didn't even know how that was possible. Quickly, she pulled the elastic band out and began to unravel the tight plaits. She then turned sideways in her chair and bent over so her hair fell forward and covered her face. She began to run her fingers swiftly through her hair to get it to lie neatly.

"Rory?" She froze and pushed her hair to either side of her face and stared up to find Peter standing over her looking half confused, half amused. She felt her face turn scarlet.

"Peter! Hi!" she exclaimed quickly sitting up straight and flipping her hair over her shoulders. "I'm sorry about that. My braid was giving me a headache." She took another quick glance at her reflection in the glass and felt panic jolt through her. She went from slightly flirty hair to bedroom hair. "If you'll just excuse me a moment I need to run to the restroom. My hair is crazy."

Peter smiled warmly. "It looks fine, actually," he assured her. "You look really pretty." They both blushed. "I mean… you look nice."

"Thanks. So do you," Rory replied with a silly grin that would not go away. He did look good. Better than when she'd first met him when he worn faded jeans and a beat-up hoodie. Today he wore a simple button up shirt and jeans that, although had been around a few seasons, didn't have any holes in them. His hair was styled too. She smiled as she realized he used a little bit too much hair gel.

"Thanks," Peter said scratching the back of his neck. They stayed like that a minute before Rory came back to her senses.

"Please sit down," she urged. Peter grinned and sat down across from her.

"So how does this work?" he asked.

"We go over your manuscript and discuss what changes need to be done before it's publishable," Rory told him.

"So I guess it needs some work," Peter chuckled.

"That's not unusual for someone's first literary work," Rory assured him. "There were a lot of great things about your novel. And I want to discuss them and what can be done to improve your work."

"So, let's get started," Peter replied.

"Oh, well, I thought, and maybe this was too presumptuous, but I thought maybe we could eat first?" Rory replied sheepishly.

"Oh!" Peter responded. "I didn't think…"

"You're right. That's so unprofessional of me. Do forgive me," Rory replied in a rush bending down to dig through her tattered bag. She'd had it since her first year in college. "Hold on while I get your manuscript."

"Actually," Peter said placing a hand on her shoulder, "I was only going to say I didn't think we'd actually eat. But I don't mind. I actually love this place."

"You've eaten here before?" Rory asked surprised.

"Yeah. I was actually surprised when you suggested this place," Peter replied. "It's kind of off the map."

"My roommates and I have a friend named Wade who raves about this place," Rory explained. "He brought us here once."

"Wade did you say? Huh?" Peter huffed. "I have a friend named Wade. Well… more of an acquaintance really."

"Yeah, acquaintance might be more accurate," Rory admitted.

"It must be something about the name Wade," Peter laughed.

"Must be," Rory agreed.

The conversation stopped when a waiter approached them and took their orders. When they were done with their tacos, they had both chosen the grilled chicken and avocado taco, Rory pulled out Peter's manuscript and placed it on a clear spot on the table.

"So, be honest, how bad was it?" Peter asked.

"Not bad at all," Rory replied. "You have a pretty strong plot. There's a unique sense of humor throughout the novel. Almost, like one acquired through experience. Which is impressive considering how… different the characters are. It's like you've had a similar experience. Although considering your characters all gained superpowers via a lab accident I find that unlikely."

"Hey, you never know," Peter replied smiling. "That could have happened."

"Oh yeah, sure," Rory scoffed. "You spilled the wrong beaker in chem class and now can glow in the dark like a lightening bug."

"Not a lightening bug," Peter murmured.

"I'm sorry. What was that?"

"Nothing," Peter replied quickly. "So, you've told me what you like about the novel. What needs to be fixed."

"Well, your characters actually," Rory said.

"What's wrong with them?" Peter asked confused, and a tad defensively.

"Nothing that can't be worked on," Rory assured him. "All of your characters are extremely likable except for the villain."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Peter replied.

"You definitely want your characters to be likeable," Rory agreed. "But that doesn't mean they should be without flaws. I mean, and please don't feel like I'm being harsh or unfair, but there is nothing wrong with your characters. No weaknesses, no personality flaws. The only character I found that had a flaw was Nick, the crusher, and that was only because he prefers dogs to cats. And that's a personal preference."

"So you're saying their Mary Sues," Peter said.

"Afraid so," Rory admitted. "You need to make them more realistic. Give them flaws. Remember your characters don't have to be likeable all the time. And your villain doesn't have to be repugnant all the time."

"I guess I have a pretty black and white view of the world," Peter said.

Rory shrugged. "I don't think that's a bad thing, so long as you remember that your readers might not," she said. "Anyway, I didn't want to write on your actual manuscript, so I printed a copy. It's enclosed with your original. I marked that one up to point out grammar and spelling errors. I also have a ton of notes with suggestions to improve your characters and your plot. The plot is off to a good start, but it needs to be cleaned up in some places."

"So, what do I do if I have a question regarding your corrections or suggestions?" Peter asked.

"You have my number," Rory told him. "You can call me."

Peter nodded. "When did you want to meet again?"

"Well, when you've finished your revision you could just come to the office and drop it off for me to read," Rory replied.

"Oh yeah, that makes sense," Peter said. "I don't know why I asked."

"On the other hand," Rory added, "if we want to avoid Opal we could always meet somewhere else. Anywhere else."

Peter laughed. "Next time I get to choose the place," he told her.

"Deal," Rory agreed smiling as they walked out of the restaurant. "Well, I guess it's time to go separate ways."

"Yeah, I guess so," Peter replied. They stared at each other for a moment before Peter waved awkwardly at her as he juggled his manuscript to his other arm. "See you."

"Yeah. See you," Rory said smiling. She watched him walk away for a moment before turning and heading in the opposite direction. She was too giddy from her meeting to be paying attention to the people around her. She didn't even notice the dirty glances she received when she bumped into people. She was about halfway home when she felt someone tug her purse.

"Hey!" she exclaimed turning around and coming to face to face with the muzzle of a gun. She froze.

"Hand it over!" a gruff voice ordered. Rory gazed up from the gun to look at the man behind it. He was scruffy looking, with unkempt hair and dirt encrusted in his clothes. He appeared to her to be middle aged.

With terror coursing through her veins she shakily began to lower her purse straps off her shoulder and prepared to hand it over to him. "Okay. Calm down," she said, trying to sound calm. "No need for the gun."

"I said hand it over bitch!" he yelled. Rory screeched as she saw him unclip the safety. She closed her eyes expecting to hear a gun shot. Instead, she heard a thud as something hit the ground. She opened her eyes and stared in shock at her mugger lying prone on the ground and Spiderman standing over him, right in front of her.

"Gee, Mister, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Spiderman quipped webbing the mugger's hand that was holding the gun to the ground. He turned around to face her then. "Are you alright, Miss?"

"Y-Yeah," Rory gasped. "Oh my god, thank you! I thought he was going to kill me. You saved my life."

"Hey, no need to thank me," Spiderman replied humbly. "I mean, I just did what any decent person would do."

"Not many people would risk their own lives for a stranger," Rory commented.

"I don't know about that," Spiderman replied. "I have faith that in most cases, humanity does the right thing. Anyway, I should call the cops."

"No don't," Rory said.

"I can't not call the cops," Spiderman said. "He could hurt someone else."

"You're right," Rory sighed. "It's just…I don't want to stick around to make a statement or go through the process of filing charges and going through a trial. Besides, you have to think what could have happened to drive him to commit this act anyway. He looks like he's been through some tough times."

Spiderman stared at her for a moment before turning back to the man lying on the sidewalk. He looked defeated. Spiderman sighed and went back over to the man. He broke off his web and grabbed the gun and crushed it on his hands. "If I see you attack someone else you won't get another chance." The mugger slowly rose to his feet. He looked back and forth between Rory and Spiderman before taking off running.

"I hope you're right about him just being down on his luck," Spiderman huffed.

Rory smiled. "Thank you," she said. "I need to get going."

"Well, how far do you have to go?" Spiderman asked. "I'll walk you home."

"Oh, that's not necessary," Rory protested. "I'm almost there. My apartment buildings just three blocks down the road."

"I don't mind," Spiderman insisted. "You have to be shaken up by what happened. Let me walk you home."

"Okay," Rory gave in. "Something tells me I'm not winning this argument anyway."

"Nope," Spiderman agreed falling into step beside her. "I'm Spiderman by the way."

"I kind of figured that one out when you shot web out of your wrist, funnily enough," Rory replied dryly. "I'm Rory."

"That's a pretty name," Peter commented. "You must have liked the Gilmore Girls."

Rory groaned. "Everyone says that!"

"Sorry," Spiderman chuckled scratching the back of his neck. "That probably gets annoying."

"Just a little," Rory replied. "I actually do like the Gilmore Girls. I just don't like how everyone assumes I like them just because of my name."

"It's not your favorite show either, is it?" Spiderman asked.

"No, that would be cupcake wars," Rory said. They both laughed as they continued to chat until they reached the front door of her apartment building. "Well, this is it."

"Oh. Well, that was fast," Spiderman commented sounding disappointed. "It was nice meeting you."

"Did you want to come up for a minute?" Rory blurted out.

"To your apartment?" Spiderman asked.

"Yeah. For some iced tea or food or something," Rory replied. "You know, as a thank you for saving my life."

"Okay," Spiderman agreed, "Sure. Why not?" He followed her into the building and up to the front desk.

"Who's this?" Hilda asked sounding overly suspicious as she appraised Spiderman's costumed figure.

"He's a friend," Rory told her. "How are you today, Hilda?"

"I don't want any trouble in my apartment building," Hilda warned.

"There won't be any trouble," Rory assured her filling out the visitor's log for Spiderman. She quickly pushed him past the front desk towards the elevator hoping he didn't hear Hilda's comment about weird characters in costumes.

"This is a nice building," Spiderman commented as the elevator shuttered to a halt at her floor.

"It's a dump," Rory replied.

"Oh no, trust me," Spiderman laughed. "I've seen dumps. This is just a little run down."

Rory laughed as she turned the key in her lock. "Hey, I can put up with a little run down. But the second I see a cockroach I am out the…. Oh my God!" Rory froze at the sight in front of her. Blood was everywhere. All over the floor, all over the counters. There was even some blood sprayed up on the walls. And in the middle of all that blood was Deadpool's corpse and a hysterical, crying Hope.

"Are you hurt?" Spiderman asked pushing her gently behind him and approaching Hope.

"I…I…I…I didn't mean to!" Hope sobbed tears pouring down her face and streaking through the blood on her cheeks. "He…he got all weird and then he attacked me. I didn't have a choice. I HAD TO!" Each word became more and more high pitched and she ended on a shriek.

"Hey, it's alright," Spiderman soothed putting an arm around her and pulling her away from Wade. "It was self-defense. We know you had to."

"And Wade will be okay, Hope," Rory jumped in to comfort her friend. "He has a healing factor, remember? And I'm sure he won't be angry. He'll know you only did it because you had to."

"She's right," Spiderman said continuing to lead Hope away from Wade. "Now, can you tell us what happened? Rory, could you please get her some water?"

"Yeah, sure," Rory agreed rushing into the kitchen and grabbing a glass from a cabinet. She tried very hard not to stare at the bloody knife in the sink. She brought the glass of water to Hope. Hope took the glass with shaking hands, only managing to bring it to her lips with the help of Spiderman.

"Good," he encouraged as Hope took slow sips from the glass until finally her shaking slowed. "Now, what happened exactly."

"He showed up unexpectedly like usual," Hope told them. "I heard him crash into my nightstand from out here. It's my night to make dinner. I was getting it together."

"So early?" Rory asked glancing at the stove. It was only just four.

Hope grimaced. "I'm still new to cooking. I like to leave myself time in case something goes horribly wrong," she replied.

"Right. Sorry," Rory replied. "Did he attack you right away?"

"No," Hope said shaking her head. "But he wasn't right. He was silent when he walked into the room. That's what caught my attention. When I looked up he was staring at me. He looked tense. I asked him what was wrong."

"Did he say?" Spiderman asked.

"No, but it broke his silence," Hope replied. "He started muttering and pacing. I couldn't make out what he was saying but it made me nervous. He seemed on edge. Not right. But I didn't know what I could do for him, so I continued getting dinner ready. Suddenly he got quiet again and when I looked up he was staring right at me. Even with his mask on I could tell he was glaring at me. I was about to ask him again what was wrong when he attacked me.

"He came around the table and grabbed me by the neck. I had seen it coming so I had been able to get a leg up and kicked him away before he could apply pressure. But he started coming back, and I didn't even think. I grabbed the knife and plunged it in his chest." Hope began to sob again. "But he wouldn't stop. He kept coming and I just kept stabbing him and stabbing him until finally he stopped moving." She broke down then and Spiderman quickly grabbed the glass from her.

Rory pulled her into a tight hug. "It's okay, Hope," she soothed. "Everything's going to be fine." She continued to say encouraging things until her friend calmed down again. Hope pulled away and wiped a hand across her face, creating a larger smear of blood on her left cheek.

"I'm sorry," she hiccoughed.

"Don't be," Rory assured her. "Look, Spiderman and I will take care of Wade and clean this up. You go take a hot shower and calm down. Try not to think about it."

"Okay," Hope agreed meekly. Rory watched Hope walk woodenly down the hall and into the bathroom before turning to Spiderman.

"I had no idea this is what we'd come home to when I invited you up here," she said. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, what's life without a little excitement," Spiderman brushed off her apology. "Come on, let's get to work getting this place cleaned up."

"Hold on while I get a blanket to put over the couch," Rory ordered. "We should move Wade first." She rushed to her room and dug out her winter duvet from her closet before hurrying back to the living room. Together they rolled Wade into it like a burrito and carried him over to the couch.

"So, how do you know Deadpool?" Spiderman asked.

"To simplify the story, we met him at a bar and just haven't been able to get rid of him," Rory huffed as she dropped his feet down onto the armrest on the couch.

"You know he's dangerous, right?" Spiderman said. "He means well, I know, but he could kill you in the blink of an eye."

"I know. And it was made clearer by tonight's event," Rory replied. "Poor Hope. I hope she'll be okay."

"With a good friend like you around for support, I'm sure she'll be fine," Spiderman assured her. He then looked at blood sprayed everywhere. "I don't think there's any possibility of saving this carpet, but we should be able to clean it off the walls and counter with some bleach. We'll also need a bucket of water."

"I'll get the bucket," Rory said. "The bleach is under the sink." Together the two got to work, starting with the walls. They were finishing up the counters when a groan filled the room.

"Wade!" Rory cried rushing over to the couch. Spiderman pulled her back.

"We don't know if he's back to himself yet," he warned.

"Back to whose self?" Wade moaned.

"Back to yourself?" Spiderman said.

Wade poked his head out from the cover he was wrapped in. "Spidey?" he asked confused and glanced around him. "In the girls' apartment? Wait, when did I get to the girls' apartment? Where's the girls?" Wade gasped obnoxiously then. "You broke into the girls' apartment and kicked them out! Spidey, how could you?!"

"He did not break into the apartment and kick us out, Wade," Rory sighed exasperated.

Wade's gaze landed on her then. "Rory!" he exclaimed and started to sit up before groaning. "Why do I feel so horrible."

"Well, you were dead a minute ago," Spiderman told him. "I'm sure that has something to do with it."

"Did I come back from a mission beat up again?" Wade asked confused. "I don't remember the last mission going badly."

"No, Wade, you didn't come back from a mission like this," Rory replied slowly.

"Then what happened?" he asked.

"Hope said that when you got here this afternoon you were really spaced out and not with it," Rory explained. "She said you attacked her."

Wade's face twisted into one of concern behind his mask. "Did I hurt her?" he asked.

"No," Spiderman told him. "She's fine, well, physically anyway." Wade still looked confused.

"She was forced to stab you repeatedly with a kitchen knife to get you to stop," Rory said. "She killed you Wade. And she feels awful. You need to…" Rory cut off when she heard a gasp from the hallway. The three turned to look at Hope standing in her bathrobe, wet hair dripping droplets of water on the floor.

"Wade?" she asked sniffling slightly.

"Hey, Hope!" Wade greeted enthusiastically. "Great knife skills! I have a few suggestions, because you got lucky this time. Let's go grab some Mexican. We can discuss pointers then." Hope's expression turned, growing hard with rage.

"Rory, give me the knife," she said.

"No, you're not going to kill him again," Rory replied firmly.

Hope scowled before turning to Spiderman. "Do me a favor. Run him out of the city for me, okay?" She turned on her feet and stalked off down the hallway to her room.

"Gee, what's her problem?" Wade whined.

"Get lost, Wade," Rory snapped. "Before I run a knife through you." Wade yelped and jumped up fleeing out the front door. Rory sighed and glanced around the apartment before her eyes landed on Spiderman. "I'm really sorry about this. You're probably wishing you let me get mugged."

"Of course not," Spiderman replied. "Actually, I kind of had fun cleaning up this murder scene with you."

Rory laughed. "Maybe next time we could do something else for fun," she said. "Now, I owe you an ice tea, don't I?"


End file.
